A 1998 Gruesome Hate Crime Horrified A Small Texas Town

The 1998 murder of James Byrd Jr. appeared to be a hit-and-run at first glance, but it didn’t take investigators long to realize they were dealing with something far more sinister.

James Byrd, Jr., pictured here holding a baby, was murdered by John William King and two other white supremacists in a gruesome hate crime on June 6, 1998.

The 1998 murder of James Byrd Jr. appeared to be a hit-and-run at first glance, but it didn’t take investigators long to realize they were dealing with something far more sinister.

Photo by: Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Screenshot from "People Magazine Investigates")

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Screenshot from "People Magazine Investigates")

A man and his grandson out for a Sunday morning walk on June 7, 1998, were horrified to find a body lying on the side of rural Huff Creek Road in Jasper, Texas. The pair immediately ran to call 911, and Jasper County Sheriff Billy Rowles was dispatched to the scene to assist his deputies. The initial theory was that the man had been the victim of a hit and run, so the highway patrol was also summoned to the scene.

As Rowles drew closer to the scene, he saw what looked like skid marks along the road and assumed the case would soon be solved, but it only took one look at the body to realize they were dealing with something much worse than a hit and run.

The body was that of a Black man, but his head and a shoulder were missing, and the skin around his ankles had been torn off, revealing bone.

As police surveyed the scene, dispatchers received another frantic 911 call — just a mile down Huff Creek Road, a woman found a human head and shoulder lying in the ditch in front of her home. At the second scene, the authorities found the head and shoulder that matched the body as well as other human tissue.

The search for evidence led Rowles to walk along the road between the two scenes. What he had initially believed was a skid mark, he realized was actually blood on the pavement. The enormity of the crime was staggering when it dawned on him — somebody had dragged that man behind a vehicle for quite some time.

The search for evidence sent authorities past the woman’s house in the other direction. As they followed more blood, they found a shirt, dentures, keys, a shoe, and other articles of clothing on the road. Eventually, the blood trail left the pavement and turned down a secluded logging road.

In a clearing at the end of the logging road, authorities found clear signs of a struggle and several more key pieces of evidence. There were half a dozen beer cans and a scattering of cigarette butts. There was a screwdriver in the dirt with a name — ”Berry” — etched into the handle. A flip-top lighter that bore a strange emblem and the word “possum” on it was also recovered.

In all, the crime scene spanned three miles of the rural road.

The location of the body appeared to be a symbol. The man had been left in front of a historically Black church. It seemed the killer was trying to send a sinister message.

See how police solved the crime on People Magazine Investigates: “Evil Comes to Jasper” on ID on July 18 at 9/8c. See more episodes on discovery+.

Next Up

Fugitive Goes On The Run After New Year's Eve Murder In 2011

Louis Rojas stands 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. According to the U.S. Marshals, Rojas has a strong interest and connection to boxing and could be working out in gyms that offer boxing. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please submit your tips to InPursuitTips.com or text 1-833-378-7783 (3-PURSUE).

Brooklyn Teen Charged With Hate Crime In Killing Of O'Shae Sibley

O'Shae Sibley was voguing to Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” album when Dmitriy Popov began spewing racist, homophobic slurs at him before allegedly fatally stabbing him in the chest.

Oregon Man Fatally Stabbed After Defending His Friend From Harassment

Colin Smith, a 32-year-old Portland man, was stabbed to death at a local bar on July 2 while defending his friend from anti-LGBTQ harassment.

John Walsh’s '15 Seconds of Shame' Murder Suspect Coreyon Brown Captured

Coreyon Brown was on the run after an alleged murder in Detroit, Michigan in June 2022.

After Yelling A Gay Slur, Texas Man Allegedly Shoots And Kills A Woman At A Gas Station

On June 2, 2023, Akira Ross, 24, was fatally shot at a gas station outside Austin, Texas, in what her family believes was a hate crime.

5 Questions The Gabby Petito Case Brought Up About Domestic Violence

The murder of 22-year-old Gabby Petito at the hands of her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, sparked a national conversation about the signs of domestic abuse.

5 Things To Know About Andrea Yates, The Mom Who Drowned Her 5 Kids In The Bathtub

On June 20, 2001, mother of five Andrea Yates drowned her children, who ranged in age from six months to seven years, in the bathtub at her home in Houston, Texas.

Man Accused Of Murdering Grad Student In L.A. Furniture Store Indicted On New Charges

In January 2022, Shawn Laval Smith allegedly attacked 24-year-old Brianna Kupfer after he entered the business where she was working alone, police say.

Many Furious As Oklahoma Death Row Inmate Set To Be Executed In May

Richard Glossip has eaten three last meals as he awaited three different executions for a murder he insists he had no involvement in.

How The 1991 Brutal Hate Crime Murder Of Paul Broussard Changed One Texas Community

The murder victim “could have been anybody’s son, anybody’s brother,” says a former Houston mayor.